


When the ice shakes again

by Junliet



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: Angst, Crying, Earthquakes, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, If You Squint - Freeform, M/M, PTSD, Pooh-san - Freeform, friendships, knife shoes appreciation society, tcc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-01-12
Packaged: 2019-10-03 03:44:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17276468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Junliet/pseuds/Junliet
Summary: Yuzuru was on the ice once again when it happened.A small section of what happens when Canada experiences a small earthquake.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not entirely happy with this but I kind of needed to write it. I've not been having a great time at the moment so I needed to write something like this. I hope at least one person enjoys (?) this so it wasn't a waste.

Yuzuru was on the ice once again when it happened.

“Good morning Yuzuru!” Brian said with a smile, coffee in his hand as the Japanese man tightened his laces and removed his guards, stepping out onto the ice with a smile and a bow. He touched the ice gently before he went over to Brian’s figure of eight, tracing it with his skate quietly. “Ready for your first run throughs after your injury today?”

Yuzuru perked up and nodded with a brighter smile as he followed the lines on the ice. “Yes. I’m happy to finally be back on the ice, skating the programmes again.” He paused and looked up at his coach with his head tilted to the side. “What do you think Johnny and Evgeni think?”

Brian smiled, leaving his Winnie the Pooh mug, a present from the Japanese man years ago, by the side of the rink and skated over to his student. “I don’t know, but if a two-time Olympic Champion dedicated me a programme, I’d be very happy with that.”

Yuzuru laughed, shaking his head at his coach as more skaters entered the rink, greeting them both. “I would give you skate, but your music is boring!”

Brian swatted at him fondly, shaking his head. “You kids just have no taste anymore.”

“We have no taste in what?” Jason asked, stopping next to the two other men with a smile as Evgenia stopped next to him.

“Music,” Brian said with a chuckle, smiling as he spotted Tracy and Junhwan lacing up their boots too. “You’re all into this new rubbish, and whatever J, K, L, M pop it is Evgenia likes.”

“Hey!” Yuzuru and Evgenia said in unison.

“K-Pop is good!” Evgenia protested.

“Japanese rock music is the best!” Yuzuru said indignantly.

“I think we all know whose music is the worst,” Jason said, and the whole group turned to face Junhwan, who had finished lacing up his skates and slid over to join the circle.

“What’s wrong?” Jun asked, looking between people in confusion.

“JULIET!” Evgenia cried out dramatically as Yuzuru lightly teased Jun. He elbowed Yuzuru back lightly, shaking his head.

“Brian let me do it!”

“Don’t pin the blame on me for this!”

“What are you arguing about this time?” Tracy asked, stopping beside them.

“Music,” Brian said with a sigh. Tracy just laughed.

“You think you have problems. I have kids, Brian, and they apparently don’t know how the volume control works. Now,” she turned to Yuzuru and Jason, “stroking practice for you two with me. And Javier, but we shouldn’t expect him for another half an hour at least.”

“Javi’s back?” Yuzuru asked, unable to hide his smile. Jason elbowed him lightly, teasing him.

Yuzuru and Javier finally decided after the Olympics to take the next step in their relationship. They weren’t sure how it was going to work once Javier fully retired, but seeing each other at shows, and Javier turning up to a few of his competitions combined with skype calls worked for both of them until Yuzuru retired and they decided what to do then. In the off season, Yuzuru could make trips to Spain and Javier some to Japan and Canada to visit him, and so they two could make it work.

Tracy smiled at Yuzuru and nodded. “Yep. You two start; he’ll be here soon. Hopefully.”

She tutted lightly and Yuzuru and Jason both laughed, starting their stroking practice together carefully to help them warm up. Yuzuru enjoyed every change of edge and each fluid and soft movement across the ice, losing himself to the feeling of flying across the ice. He was at peace on the ice, smiling to himself as he started to imagine how he wanted his training session to go, how he wanted his jumps to be, how he wanted his spins and choreography to look, and how different it would feel to before the injury. He looked up, shaking his head out of his daydream and stopped dead on the ice.

“Javi!” He shouted, dashing across the rink to run at his boyfriend, pulling him tightly into a hug. Javier only just managed to stay upright with the momentum from his boyfriend, luckily for him he was very light so the speed didn’t have too much behind it, and he gave Yuzuru a light kiss on the cheek.

“I missed you Yuzu,” he mumbled, rubbing his waist lightly in a hug, “Spain is wonderful, but I missed you and training and Brian losing his hair.” He pulled back, smiling brightly. “How much more hair has he lost dealing with all of you lot?”

“None!” Brian shouted from across the rink with Jun. The teen just laughed, shaking his head and mouthing the word “lies” behind his coach’s back.

“Ah yes, I’m sure JULIET has really helped with that.” Evgenia said, sticking her tongue out at Jun.

“You’re all just jealous that I’m a figure skating meme at the moment and you’re all boring.” Jun declared indignantly.

“What’s a meme?” Brian asked Tracy, earning a snort of laughter from Evgenia, Jason, and Junhwan.

Yuzuru smiled, resting his head on Javier’s shoulder. “I’m glad you’re back Javi.”

“I’m glad you are too.” Javier said gently. “Now come on. I need to do stroking practice and I’m sure you need to jump something soon. Brian still has too much hair for my liking.”

“If I hear one more comment about my hair, I’m removing your coffee machine privileges Javier Fernandez Lopez.”

Javier held his hands up, grinning a little. “Right right, sorry. I’ll stop distracting him now.” And with one final kiss to Yuzuru’s forehead, he went off to start stroking practice.

Yuzuru collected his thoughts again and set off, running through his jumps and spins for six minutes like he would in competition to properly get the feel of his stamina after taking time off for the injury. Brian skated over to him as most of the other skaters stepped off to stop for lunch.

“Do you want to take a break, or do you want to run through one of your programmes now?” Brian asked gently, nodding to the empty rink save for the two of them, Javier, and Tracy.

“Origin now, Otonal later. Origin longer so more jumps and needs more work.” Yuzuru decided and Brian nodded, smiling and stepping over to their sound system. He picked up Yuzuru’s CD and put it in.

“Whenever you’re ready.” Brian said, “just, give me a nod or something so I know when to start it.”

Yuzuru nodded, skating through his rituals like he would at competition. He couldn’t shake hands with Brian, pat the boards, or squeeze Pooh’s nose, however he mapped out a single loop, crossed himself to remember his axis, collected himself and stopped in the middle, taking a deep breath in the starting pose. Brian read his posture and started the music.

Javier completely ignored what Tracy was saying to him, and he stopped skating just to watch Yuzuru. He’d looked at home on the ice all the time he’d know him, but now he looked perfect and at peace. The music was an extension of his skating and body and, even without his costume and the lights of a stadium, Javier could see the respect for Plushenko being shown through the skating and the effort put into it. The quad loop was landed softly, as if Yuzuru hadn’t injured his ankle on the same jump earlier in the season. The quad salchow made Javier’s heart swell with pride. He looked so calm and collected during his spin and step sequence that Javier was sure nothing would distract him. The triple loop fitted perfectly to the music, and his first quad toe Javier was sure had never looked better. Yuzuru landed his second quad toe and took off the triple axel sequence when the cricket club building began to shake. Javier grabbed hold of the wall to steady himself, and he and Tracy exchanged a look of horror. Yuzuru crashed down from his axel and stumbled over himself, trippin on his toe picks to get off the ice as quickly as possible. As the ice by Javier’s feet started to shake, he ran over to Yuzuru and the door as fast as he could, scooping up the Japanese man’s tissue box by Brian’s mug as a last thought. Javier stumbled out of the shaking building to the street with his boyfriend half in his arms, both of their skates still on as their coaches emerged behind them and teammates surrounded them.

Yuzuru sobbed into Javier’s arms and his heart dropped at the state of the Japanese man. He was shaking all over and had one hand firmly in Javier’s shirt. Javier cradled him in his arms carefully, kissing the crown of his head softly. He handed Pooh over to the younger man and he hugged the tissue box tightly to his chest.

“What happened?” Jun asked softly, breaking the silence with a mixture of horror and awe in his voice. Brian grimaced slightly, pointedly not looking at Yuzuru.

“An earthquake,” Javier felt Yuzuru tense in his arms and he hushed him softly, “but they’re so rare in Canada, I never thought this sort of thing would happen. And, when they have happened in Canada, they’ve been minor things only, nothing like-”

“Like Sendai,” Yuzuru choked out, just loud enough for the group to hear. Tracy pulled both him and Javier into a hug, rubbing his back.

“It’ll be alright Yuzuru, I promise,” she said gently.

“It’s not quite that bad,” Brian tried to reason with him gently, “and hopefully someone will come soon. The building is still there, and the roads look okay. Someone should be with us soon.” Yuzuru nodded, eyes closed as he hugged Javier and Pooh tighter.

The group was picked up and taken to an evacuation centre. Yuzuru’s mother was contacted and she found the group, pulling her son into a tight hug full of tears and Japanese. Yuzuru cried into her shoulder, holding her tightly like a support blanket along with Pooh. Javier never let his hand leave Yuzuru’s back, offering him silent and gentle support. Brian sat down next to Yuzuru when his mother had gone to phone her husband and daughter to let them know they were safe.

“I should have told you this was a risk,” Brian started but Yuzuru shook his head.

“No one’s fault. Please, no apology is needed.”

Brian nodded, looking at how Yuzuru fiddled with Pooh’s ears and paws. “Is he okay?”

“Little dusty, but he will live.” He glanced at his skates next to what little they had. “I have to sharpen the blades.”

“We can worry about that later.” Brian said, patting Yuzuru’s shoulder. “Make sure you get something to eat, okay?”

Yuzuru nodded and his coach left him alone. Almost as if he’d heard Brian’s words, Javier appeared with two plates of rice, vegetables, and fish.

“Thought you could do with some food,” Javier said gently, settling down next to him. “How do you feel?”

Yuzuru shrugged, taking the plate. “Thank you Javi. I feel…” he let out a pained laugh and shook his head. “It happen during Origin. It’s like my origin.”

Javier swallowed thickly, studying his boyfriend’s face. He’d seen him overjoyed with a smile brighter than any star in the universe and little creases around his eyes and mouth. He’d seen him disappointed with himself, with a small, practiced smile on his face, but lowered shoulders. He’d seen him fighting through career ending injuries, proud, devastated, dejected, but never this. Javier didn’t think he’d ever seen the raw vulnerability Yuzuru was showing before.

“There’s more to your story than this,” Javier said gently, looping an arm around his shoulders, “and you’re the strongest person here, you know,” he gestured to everyone else in the shelter around them, “because you’ve fought through this before. And yes, it hurts so much for you. I can’t even imagine what awful memories it’s brought back. But you made it through then and won an Olympic gold medal for Sendai, and then did it again. If anyone can survive this and make it through again, it’s you Yuzu. I believe in you and I know you’re going to fight for this and do the very best you can.”

Yuzuru cuddled up to him, resting half in Javier’s lap with a nod and Pooh in his lap. “Thank you Javi,” he mumbled, looking up to meet his boyfriend’s eyes, “without you, I think I wouldn’t be okay. I think I would still be in the rink.”

“Brian would have pulled you out.” Javier said with a shake of his head and a light laugh. “And I’ll always be here for you Cari, always and forever.”

“Still, I thank you for being my support.” Yuzuru mumbled into his neck.

“Excuse me,” Brian said from behind them, catching all his skaters’ attention. “I don’t know when the rink will be open again, but we will do our best to keep you guys informed will everything. If you need some time, that’s okay. We will do our best to support you and please don’t hesitate to contact us if you need something. If you guys want to withdraw from Four Continents or Europeans, I understand and we can contact your federations and let them know.”

Javier pulled Yuzuru in closer, rubbing his shoulder. “Will you be okay when I’m in Belarus?”

“Yes,” Yuzuru said firmly, squeezing Pooh’s front paws lightly, “yes, I will be okay. I will be cheering for you and watching online. Wouldn’t miss Javi’s performance for the world.”

Javier smiled and kissed Yuzuru softly, in the middle of an evacuation centre in Toronto. “Te amo, Yuzuru.”

“Dai suki da yo,” Yuzuru mumbled, kissing his jawline. “I love you Javi.”

“I love you too,” Javier said. He cradled his boyfriend in his arms, holding him carefully as the doctors in the area checked everyone over. Once they’d been given the all clear, and some shoes to wear, Javier and Yuzuru headed back to the latter’s home with his mother.

Javier curled up next to Yuzuru in bed, pulling him into a hug as they lay together. “I will be here throughout the night if you need. I won’t leave you Yuzu, I promise. Wake me up with all of the nightmares you have. I don’t care. Kick me throughout the night if you need someone to cuddle you. I will be happy to hug you and look after you.”

Yuzuru cuddled up to him closer, nodding with a tiny smile. “You the same. Wake me if you need me Javi. I will be here always.” He looped his pinky finger with Javier’s and smiled.

Yuzuru was on the ice once again when it happened, but he had Javier with him the whole time for support now. They could get through it together.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuzuru and Javier work out how Yuzuru's going to get over this with a little blast from the past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't think I'd write this second chapter, so enjoy!

Yuzuru woke up panting, sitting bolt upright as his eyes adjusted to the darkness and he caught his breath.

_Breathe Yuzuru. It’s okay. Breathe. Just breathe. You’re safe. You’re home. You’re okay. It’s not Sendai. It’s not. You’re safe. You’re here. It’s okay. Everything is okay._

He swung his legs carefully out from where they’d tangled with Javier’s, sliding on his glasses before he walked out to their small balcony. The cool January air calmed him down as he looked out over the suburb, slowing his breathing down like his old therapist taught him to. He traced the frost on the balcony railing lightly, shivering in his pyjamas.

“Hey, why are you freezing to death out here?” Yuzuru turned to see Javier. The Japanese man just hugged him tightly, inhaling Javier’s scent and burying his face in his shirt. “Did you have a nightmare?”

Yuzuru nodded, fighting back tears as Javier rubbed the back of his hair gently, trying to comfort him. “It’s okay Yuzu. I promise it’s going to be okay.” Yuzuru nodded again into his shirt, enjoying feeling protected. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“Didn’t want to bother you. You looked happy and very asleep.”

“You can always wake me up Yuzuru. I would always wake up for you if you needed me to.”

Yuzuru chuckled through his tears, looking out over the city as Javier kissed the crown of his head. He wiped at them quickly, sniffing quietly. Javier cupped his cheeks gently, looking at him with concern.

“What do you need me to do to help you Yuzuru?”

“I…” Yuzuru shook his head, hugging Javier tightly, “nothing. You’ve got to be scared too Javi. I know you’re hurting too, you just don’t want to show it and you want to be strong for me, but you need to think about yourself too. And…. You haven’t left me so you haven’t checked on Effie, have you?”

Javier’s heart dropped a little before he shook his head a little. “I filled up her food bowl before I went out so she won’t have starved. I’ll go and check on her soon, but not at,” he checked the time, frowning, “three in the morning Yuzuru. Stop being so strong and let me take care of you for a bit.”

Yuzuru just nodded, head against Javier’s chest. “I know,” he mumbled, squeezing him gently, “I know. But I… Only Mother has seen me like this before.”

“There’s no shame in showing vulnerability sometimes,” Javier promised, kissing his cheek. “Now, I’m freezing and you are too. Come back to bed and cuddles?”

Yuzuru nodded, cuddling him closer as he locked the balcony door and crawled back into bed next to Javier. In his arms he felt secure again and soon they both drifted back to sleep. The next morning, he and Javier both overslept and found a note from his mother saying she’d gone out to buy more food. Yuzuru made Javier breakfast in bed and they spent extra time cuddling as long as they dared. Eventually they peeled themselves away from each other and walked the short distance over to Javier’s apartment. Unlocking the door, Javier called into the hallway as Yuzuru toed off his shoes.

“Princesa! Effie!” He called out, frowning at the lack of furry creature rubbing up against his leg. “Princesa, es Javi! Where are you Effie?”

Yuzuru poked his head into Javier’s living room and tapped his boyfriend on the arm, pointing under his sofa. There, curled up, was his fluffy brown lump of a cat, pressed underneath it to hide away from everything. Javier and Yuzuru carefully approached her and Javier extended a hand.

“Hey Sweetie, princesa, Effie,” she looked up at his words and all but dived for Javier, burrowing into his chest just as Yuzuru had hugged him. Javier chuckled, rubbing her ears softly with a pained smile. “Sorry Princesa, someone else needed me lots last night. You’re my strong brave girl. I knew you could handle this.”

Yuzuru’s heart melted at the sight of Javier baby talking his cat and Yuzuru held out his hands to take her. As Javier went off to refill her food bowl, Yuzuru and Effie made eye contact.

“Hey there, I’m Yuzuru,” he sighed, scratching behind her ears gently, “sorry I stole your dad yesterday. He um… He’s too kind for his own good you know. I’m sorry I stole him though. He… He came to comfort me.” He unconsciously swapped to Japanese without really thinking. “See, I’ve been through something like this before. And I was so scared then. I was sixteen and the ice shattered around my feet and I ran out in my skates because I was so terrified of what was going on.” He swallowed the lump in his throat down quickly. “I… This time was less bad, but I…I just, everything made me think of back then when I was little and in Sendai and there was a tsunami and an earthquake and a nuclear meltdown and my family could have died. And… and it… And I prayed it would never happen again, anything like that, to anyone I care about. I guess they didn’t listen, huh?” he chuckled through his tears at her and kissed the top of her furry head too. “I’m sorry I stole your dad from you though Effie-chan. I’m sorry you had to suffer this yourself. Please forgive me one day for this.”

Effie mewed quietly at him, patting his cheek with her paw gently. Yuzuru chuckled and kissed the top of her head again. “Thank you for understanding. I’m so sorry about it. I promise you, I won’t steal Javi from you again.”

“You shouldn’t talk about me in a language I can’t understand you know,” Javier said with a little chuckle, smiling as Effie wiggled free and ran towards her food bowl. He reached for Yuzuru’s hand, stroking the back of it with his thumb. “How are you feeling?”

“I-…” Yuzuru chewed the inside of his lip as he sat down next to Javier on the sofa. “I’m thinking I… I want to call my old coach, Abe-sensei. She helped me through last time and she can help me this time, surely? Brian wouldn’t mind, would he?”

“Yuzu, if you’re doing something to help you get through this, Brian won’t mind at all. He’d encourage you, I’m sure. I can go with you to the rink later to tell him if you’d like? No skating at the moment though because our blades are pretty messed up.”

Yuzuru nodded, and the two found themselves walking towards the rink, hand in hand, in the late morning. Brian very nearly spat out his coffee when he saw the two of them.

“No. Whatever crazy skating plan you two have cooked up on your blades, no. Not until they’re sharpened and you both have time to get over this. I had to send Evgenia and Jason home when I found them at the door early for practice.”

“We’re not here to practice,” Javier said, and Brian did then spit his coffee out, coughing and spluttering, “Yuzuru has a suggestion he wants your approval on.”

“No quad axel combinations,” Brian said firmly. Yuzuru pouted at him but shook his head, cheeky look melting away to a serious one. “What’s up Yuzu?” Brian asked more gently.

“I…” Yuzuru twisted his bracelet with a little frown, looking to Javier for support, “I… um, yesterday brought back lots,” he mumbled and Brian flinched a little, “So, um, I have an idea for helping with thoughts about it.”

“I’m listening,” Brian encouraged, all attention focused on Yuzuru.

“I, well, um, my old coach, Abe, uh, Nanami Abe, she helped me through the last time,” Javier linked his fingers with Yuzuru’s, “so I just wanted to check you’d be okay with me phoning her and talking to her about this?”

Brian blinked at him in minor shock before he shook his head lightly, smiling. “Yuzuru, whatever you need to do to help you get through this I will support. Well, nearly anything. I think calling your old coach is a great idea. In fact, I’ve never really had a chance to speak to her. I’d love to thank her for handing me someone with so much talent and such passion.”

Yuzuru hid his face in Javier’s chest, shaking his head. “Brian don’t be embarrassing!”

“It’s my job as your Cricket Club Dad.”

“Not your job!” Yuzuru complained to Javier’s pecs. Javier rubbed his back gently, chuckling to himself.

“Come on,” Javier said, rolling his eyes fondly over the top of Yuzuru’s head at Brian before he gave Yuzuru a kiss on the cheek. “Let’s go and get some lunch. I’ll pay. And then you can come and play with Effie again and phone your coach later, okay?”

After a wonderful lunch of ramen noodles, how had Javier found all the best Japanese places in Toronto, they walked back to Javier’s house. Javier scooped up Effie and popped her on Yuzuru’s lap as he fiddled with his phone.

“Nervous?”

“A little,” he confessed, looking down at the contact he hadn’t deleted for years. When he’d first moved to Brian, she bid him farewell with a teary smile and a goodbye hug.

_“I’m always just one call away if you need me Yuzuru. If you’re ever around, come and say hello so we can catch up. I wish you the best of luck in the future. Don’t forget the beginner’s mind, and you’ll go so far. You will fly, Yuzuru Hanyu.”_

Yuzuru swallowed quickly, running his fingers gently through Effie’s fur as he hit call and raised the phone to his ear.

 _Please don’t have changed the number._ He prayed silently.

Three rings.

Four rings.

Five rings.

“Hello?” The voice at the other end said in Japanese. Yuzuru all but deflated, tension completely leaving his body at his old coach’s comforting voice.

“Abe-sensei,” he got out, tearing up slightly.

“Hanyu Yuzuru?” her voice lit up, “how have you been? I saw you last in Sendai when you showed me your second Olympic gold medal. I always told you that you’d go far, didn’t I? We missed you at the Japanese Nationals though. I hope your ankle is better, or good enough that you can skate on it now. I know you don’t like being off the ice for a while.” She cleared her throat and paused. “How can I help you?”

“How do you know it’s help?” Yuzuru asked, surprised.

“It’s the middle of the season. Something must have come up or you’d have waited until you came home in the off season.” She chuckled comfortingly down the phone. “So, how can I help?”

Yuzuru glanced around, confirming that Javier wasn’t in the room anymore. He must have left to give him some more privacy. Yuzuru swallowed down his tears as best as he could before he spoke up.

“A-Abe-sensei, there… Another one, like Sendai, but not as bad.”

“Oh Yuzuru,” her tone softened considerably to the comforting woman Yuzuru had known had been cheering for him at the boards for years, “Oh Yuzuru, I’m sorry, no one should ever have to go through that once, let alone twice.”

“I asked Brian if I could talk to you because you helped me before and he through it was a great idea,” Yuzuru continued. She chuckled down the phone and Yuzuru could all but feel the hug she gave him when he returned to skating when he was sixteen.

“Well, I know your coach has some sense then,” Yuzuru could hear her smile, “and I will do everything I can for you and to help you Yuzuru, promise.”

Yuzuru hugged Effie just a little bit tighter, wishing Pooh was with him right now. “Thank you,” he whispered.

“Now then Yuzuru,” he heard the change in her voice to her teasing coaching voice, “what’s this I hear about you terrorising your coach with a mysterious quad axel?”

Javier came back into the room, humming under his breath with two hot chocolates on a tray as well as a bag of cat treats for Effie when he heard laughter. Poking his head around the door, his heart warmed at Yuzuru’s sunshine smile and his laughter into the phone with Effie in his lap.

That photo became Javier’s new lock screen and daily phone calls with Nanami Abe became part of Yuzuru’s schedule.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story more from Jun's point of view

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jun cries, Yuzuru cries, a lot of people cry in this. There's also some light teasing between Jason and Jun at the beginning and the Evgenia, Jason and Jun friendship

They weren’t on the ice when it happened.

Evgenia had just changed into her trainers, earphones in with an EXO playlist ready to go when the changing room floor began to shake. Holding onto the wall, she steadied herself enough to work out what was happening and ran out of the changing rooms, her bag bumping her thigh as she struggled to stay completely upright and almost fell out of the Cricket Club.

Jason and Junhwan were chatting together happily in their changing room. Jun laced up his trainers tightly before checking a text, grinning brightly,

“Everything okay?” Jason asked, eyebrows raised. Jun nodded, pocketing his phone with a little chuckle.

“I don’t know how Kim Yuna got my phone number but I am honoured she texts me.”

“Yuna gave you her phone number?” Jason clapped him on the back with a genuine smile. “You have accompanied what many men have failed to do.”

Jun flushed bright red and picked up his bag, shaking his head. “It’s about a commercial! Not that!”

Jason nodded, chuckling a little as he too picked up his bag. Jun tilted his head at him and laughed with a little smirk. “Anyway, you and Evgenia have been hanging out an awful lot lately~.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jason spluttered, turning pink to match Jun’s face too. “Zhenya and I are good friends! Nothing more!”

“And Kim Yuna is an idol to me! Nothing more!” Jun countered with a small smile. He pulled on his oversized hoodie and picked up his bag just as the floor began to shake and he stumbled into Jason.

“You alright?” Jason asked, checking him with concern replacing the smiles before. Jun nodded as the room around them shook more. Exchanging a look, the two of them tripped over themselves to get out of the building.

“Javier and Yuzuru,” Jun said softly as Jason pulled him out of the doors.

“They’ll be fine. Brian and Tracy are there for them. They’ll help them.” Jason said as the two of the gathered with Evgenia. The three of them sat down together in the middle of the road outside of the building, watching as Javier ran out with Yuzuru in his arms followed by their coaches.

“Is he hurt?” Jun asked Jason quietly when he saw Yuzuru openly sobbing into Javier’s chest.

“No, I…” Jason chewed his lip. “It’s not my place to talk about it. It’s Yuzuru’s story really. I’m kind of surprised you don’t know about it.”

Jun looked up at the building, swallowing thickly as Evgenia hugged Jason tightly. “What happened?” He asked Brian. His coach frowned and grimaced before he answered.

“An earthquake,” Jun gasped a little. He spotted Javier calming Yuzuru and puzzle pieces clicked together in his head, “but they’re so rare in Canada, I never thought this sort of thing would happen. And, when they have happened in Canada, they’ve been minor things only, nothing like-”

“Like Sendai,” Yuzuru choked out, just loud enough for the group to hear. Tracy pulled both him and Javier into a hug, rubbing his back as Jun connected the dots.

 _The Great East Japanese Earthquake of 2011._ Jun had been nine at the time when he heard about it on the news in Seoul. He wrote it off pretty quickly as a child as “something that would never happen to me”. He forgot that Yuzuru had already lived through this sort of thing once. Again, must have been painful for him. Tracy comforted Yuzuru gently as Brian continued.

 “It’s not quite that bad,” Brian tried to reason with Yuzuru and himself gently, “and hopefully someone will come soon. The building is still there, and the roads look okay. Someone should be with us soon.”

Jun fiddled with the keychain on his bag as they waited, not wanting to stare at Yuzuru. Evgenia was speaking rapid Russian on the phone to her mother and Jason was sitting close to him, waiting for his family to pick up their phones. Jun checked his phone for a message from his mother, but there was nothing. He stood up, stumbling a little as he walked away from the rest of the group for some privacy. Dialling the number, he waited, catching Tracy’s concerned eye as he did. He gave her a small smile as he counted the rings.

_Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. Eleven. Twelve._

“Hello!” his mother’s voice mail message in Korean rang out to him and he chewed his lip to keep in every emotion as much as possible. “I’m sorry I can’t come to the phone right now, but please leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can!”

The beep signalled to Jun that he could start talking and he took a deep breath to steady himself. “H-hey mum,” he choked out, swallowing down his emotions quickly, “hey, I… I just want you to know I’m fine. I’m okay. We’re all okay in the club. I um… I hope you’re okay. Please let me know how you are as soon as you can. Love you loads. See you soon.”

He hung up, blinking back tears quickly and replacing them with the smile he had been forced to practice for commercials and television shows all through his childhood. He sat back down next to Jason who pulled him into a one-armed hug quickly.

“You guys okay?” Jason asked him and Evgenia.

“Yeah,” Jun breathed out, steadying himself, “yeah, I… I could definitely be worse right now.”

Three pairs of eyes drifted to Yuzuru curled up in Javier’s arms, unspoken words exchanged between them.

_At least there wasn’t a tsunami as well._

_At least the rink wasn’t collapsing on us as we ran out._

_At least the ice wasn’t shattering beneath our feet._

“I’m not withdrawing from Korean nationals. Not now I’ve done the ranking competition.” Jun announced. Jason and Evgenia raised an eyebrow each at him. “You two look like you’ve choreographed that.”

“We didn’t.” Jason said, “but that’s pretty admirable, that you’re going to do that in like, what, a week?”

“Yeah. I knew I shouldn’t have bothered coming back here in between them,” Jun joked lightly, fiddling with his keyring once again. A vehicle approached the group, stopping by them.

“Were you guys in the building? Anyone left in there?”

“No one,” Tracy said gently to the men stepping out to greet the group of skaters. “And we don’t have any physical injuries either.”

The men nodded but turned to the group anyway. “There’s a shelter that’s opened not far from here. We’re just taking everyone there for now so we can assess the damage and see when it’s safe for people to go. And we’re trying to get families back together again.”

Jun made eye contact with Yuzuru at that point and both of them teared up, blinking away the tears in silence quickly. Evgenia had her mother in Canada too, sure, but she had already answered and reassured her daughter that she was okay. Yuzuru had been too shaken to check on his mother, and Jun checked his phone once more.

Nothing.

Tracy was helping him into the vehicle when he finally emerged from his own head, and he found himself squished into the corner back seat of a mini bus, next to Yuzuru. Javier gave him a small apologetic smile as he kept an arm around Yuzuru’s shoulder. Jun chewed his lip, fiddling with his phone nervously.

“Phone your mother,” Yuzuru mumbled to him quietly.

“She didn’t pick up before,” Jun mumbled back. Yuzuru booped his nose with Pooh gently as a way of comforting him.

“Sorry.”

“You don’t have to try and comfort me, Yuzuru,” Jun said softly, “I know you’re hurting right now. You… You worry about you, and I’ll worry about me, okay?”

Yuzuru sniffed, wiping his eyes with a tissue from Pooh. “Okay.” He smiled a little bit wider, even through his tears. “Okay. But don’t bottle up feelings.”

Jun smiled a little despite himself and nodded, unlocking his phone. His thumb hovered over his mother’s contact when it started ringing anyway.

A random number was calling him, and he answered it hesitantly

“Hello?” He answered in English, holding his breath.

“Junhwan? Are you okay?” the comforting Korean voice on the other end of the phone pulled a sob from him. “I’m sorry, the shock made me drop my phone down the back of the sofa, and I thought it was more important to get out. Are you okay?”

Jun nodded, biting his lip hard to try and stop the tears. They still came despite his best efforts and he let out a small, quiet laugh. “I’m fine, I’m fine. The whole club got out and the building is fine. We’re… We’re all just shaken, but we’re okay. We’re going to an evacuation centre near the rink.”

“I think I know where they’re taking you guys. We’re also there,” Jun properly relaxed at that, head resting on the back of the seat in front. “I’ll see you soon and give you the hug you deserve. Love you sweetheart.”

“I love you too,” Jun said softly, wiping his eyes furiously. “I love you so much.”

“I know. I love you too,” his mother replied before she hung up the phone. Jun slumped back in his seat, wiping his eyes again.

“Everything okay?” Yuzuru asked him, offering Pooh again. Jun took a tissue, wiping his eyes and blowing his nose.

“Everything’s okay.” He replied, smiling for the older man. “And everything will be okay for you too. You’re strong Yuzuru.” He nodded. “You fought through so much last season, and you and Javier are the best skaters I know. You two can get through this together, I know it.”

Javier smiled and squeezed Yuzuru’s shoulder lightly. “Everyone at the club will get through this. It’ll be okay. It’s something that happened and we’re going to fight through it.”

Once the vehicle drew to a stop, Jason and Evgenia stepped out first. Evgenia was pulled into a firm hug by her mother and they disappeared into the evacuation centre together. Jason went in after her, and Brain and Tracy stepped out of the vehicle before Javier and Yuzuru, with Javier helping Yuzuru carefully. All four of them were still in their skates and were mindful of their balance. Jun was the last out, thanking the driver politely as he climbed out of the minibus.

“Junhwan!” Jun looked up and his heart caught in his throat. He stumbled over himself, just like he had to escape the building, to run into his mother’s arms. He was swept up into a tight hug and let himself cry.

“It’s okay,” she whispered softly into his hair, stroking it gently to calm him down. “It’s okay. You’re safe now, with me.”

Jun nodded, letting himself lean on her as they went into the evacuation centre together after Brian and Tracy. She held him like she had when he was very young, keeping an arm around his waist carefully.

“I got a phone call about a commercial,” she said gently once Brian had finished speaking to the group, “but, after this, I think you should turn it down and just do Nationals. Or you can withdraw from Nationals if you want.”

“I’m doing Nationals.” Jun said, more to himself than her, “And doing the commercial will help me get back to normal. I want to do it.”

She nodded, kissing his forehead. “Talk to me, okay? I know teenagers don’t want to talk to their parents, but you’ve been through something horrible, so talk to me.”

“I will,” Jun sighed, leaning his head on her shoulder carefully. “I will.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story more from Jason's point of view.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This could be the last update to this I think. I doubt I will add anymore to this, as I feel I have covered Evgenia's side of the story through the other chapters. The person I feel is missing the most is Javier, but I don't know if I can do his side that well. If people want his side in more detail, I can try writing it. I might not get around to it for a while because exams.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy Jason's side of this incident x

They weren’t on the ice when it happened.

Jason hummed happily, smiling a little at Junhwan’s blushing red face in the changing rooms. Yuzuru and Javier were still practicing on the ice, but he, Jun and Evgenia were going to have lunch together in Toronto, mostly so that the newest two arrivals at the Cricket Club could become more familiar with the local area.

“Anyway, you and Evgenia have been hanging out an awful lot lately~.” Junhwan teased from next to him, pulling him out of the music in his head.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jason spluttered, turning pink to match Jun’s face too. “Zhenya and I are good friends! Nothing more!” He pouted a little at the youngster who sniggered quietly to himself.

“And Kim Yuna is an idol to me! Nothing more!” Jun countered with a small smile. Jason shook his head at Jun and his awkwardness and shyness in regards to his country’s main figure skating idol. Silently Jason prayed that Jun could live up to her legacy and leave a similar one in his wake.

The room around them shook and Jason stumbled into the wall, bracing himself just in time as the teenager fell into his arms. Jason held Jun upright, checking him over for a second in concern

“You alright?” Jason asked, and Jun nodded as the room around them shook more. Exchanging a look, Jason grabbed Jun’s wrist and pulled him out of the locker room in a run. Jun looked back at through the large windows onto the ice.

“Javier and Yuzuru,” Jun said softly as Jason pulled him out of the doors.

“They’ll be fine. Brian and Tracy are there for them. They’ll help them.” Jason answered breathlessly as the two of the gathered with Evgenia. She pulled them into a tight hug, and the three of them sat down together in the middle of the road outside of the building, watching as Javier ran out with Yuzuru in his arms followed by their coaches. Jason let out the breath he didn’t realise he’d been holding in, relieved.

“Is he hurt?” Jun asked Jason quietly when he saw Yuzuru openly sobbing into Javier’s chest. Jason looked away from the pair as his heart broke for Yuzuru, and he shook his head quickly to clear his thoughts. Yuzuru deserved some form of privacy, and this was the best they could do at the moment.

“No, I…” Jason chewed his lip, debating what the tell Jun. “It’s not my place to talk about it. It’s Yuzuru’s story really. I’m kind of surprised you don’t know about it.”

Evgenia hugged Jason around the waist tightly as Jun’s attention diverted to Brian and quizzing him instead. Jason rubbed her back comfortingly as she held onto him. “This has never happened in Russia. I’ve never—”

“Me neither,” Jason said softly, “he’s the only one of us who has been through something like this before.” He pulled back and looked her over too. “Are you alright?”

“I will be,” she said softly, chuckling very slightly. “I hope those two are.”

“What happened?” Jason and Evgenia exchanged a look at Jun’s question. Their coach frowned and grimaced before he answered.

“An earthquake,” Jun gasped a little and Evgenia winced as Jason did too. Jason noted Yuzuru’s reaction to those words and he unconsciously pulled Evgenia a little closer, rubbing her shoulder lightly in comfort. Making eye contact with Javier, Jason gave him a small, soft smile before he turned away, giving the two some privacy once again as Brian continued talking, “but they’re so rare in Canada, I never thought this sort of thing would happen. And, when they have happened in Canada, they’ve been minor things only, nothing like-”

“Like Sendai,” Yuzuru choked out, just loud enough for the group to hear. Tracy pulled both him and Javier into a hug, rubbing his back. Jason had to fight back the urge to hug Yuzuru tightly. _He’s fine, Jason. He’s got Javier and Tracy right now. He most likely won’t appreciate a random hug, not when he’s this sensitive._

“It’s not quite that bad,” Brian tried to reason with Yuzuru and himself gently, “and hopefully someone will come soon. The building is still there, and the roads look okay. Someone should be with us soon.”

“I need to know,” Evgenia whispered to Jason and he nodded, letting go of her as she detangled herself from their hug. Jason shuffled a little closer to Jun to give her some space. He smiled a little more when, after what felt like no rings, Evgenia began speaking rapidly in Russia. At least her mother was picking up and that meant she wasn’t-.

_No one is dead, Jason. Keep it together. It’s okay, I promise. You should phone your family too, check they’re okay and everything._

Jason got out his phone and typed in his family’s number, thumb just hovering over the green button as he glanced at Jun out of the corner of his eye. The teenager was fiddling with his bag, trying not to look at anyone for too long. Jason chewed his lip, moving his thumb away from the screen as he leaned towards Jun.

“You okay?” he asked Jun softly.

Jun nodded and stood up, gesturing to his phone with worse English than normal and a pained half-smile that looked too practiced for Jason’s liking. Jason nodded, shuffling away from him as he walked off for some privacy. Clearing his own head, Jason called his family’s number.

_One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six._

“Jason!” he let out a shaky breath, smiling when he heard his father’s voice down the other end of the phone, “Jason, what happened? We saw about it on the news just a minute ago. Are you guys all alright? It didn’t happen down here, so we’re fine, but are you? Do you want us to drive up and meet you?”

Jason glanced around before he lowered his voice. “I…” he swallowed down some of his emotions quickly and started again. “I’m going to get the first flight I can to you guys. I know Nationals are coming up soon, but I,” he swallowed again, smiling weakly, “I think Brian and Tracy will understand. I think they’ll think it’s a good idea, you know?”

His dad sighed down the end of the phone, and Jason would have bet he was crying were he a betting man. “Jason,” he said, shaky voice through tears, “we love you. Whatever you feel you need to do, we’ll support you, okay?”

“Okay,” Jason mumbled, surprised by the shakiness of his own voice. He touched his cheek and glanced down at the tears on his fingers.

_When did I start crying?_

“I love you guys,” Jason said quickly, swallowing back his tears and smiling. Brian looked up from Yuzuru and Javier to meet his eyes, mouthing “are you okay?” at him. Jason nodded quickly, with a little smile to his coach.

“We love you too,” his dad said, then his voice grew fainter, “don’t we guys?”

“WE LOVE YOU JASON!” Jason couldn’t help but chuckle through his tears at his family’s cheers of support and encouragement to him. He shook his head, laughing a little.

“I love you all too, and I can’t want to see guys.”

“We know,” his dad said gently, and Jason could hear the smile in his voice, “we know, and we can’t wait to see you soon too. Anything you need, and I mean anything, you tell us right away, okay? This won’t be easy for you to get over, so we’ll give you all the support we can and that you need right now.”

Jason wiped at his tears quickly and nodded, smiling at his phone. “Thanks guys. I…Take care.”

“You too,” his dad said, smile still in his voice.

“I love you.”

“We love you too.”

“Bye,” Jason said gently before he hung up the phone. Evgenia tilted her head at him and wordlessly gave him a hug. He returned it, smiling into her shoulder as she said something he was sure was reassuring, however she was still in Russian mode so he couldn’t understand it at all.

Junhwan came and sat back down next to Jason with a practiced smile, but red rimmed eyes that gave away so much more than the teenager could hide. Jason pulled him into a one-armed hug quickly.

“You guys okay?” Jason asked Jun and Evgenia.

“Yeah,” Jun breathed out, steadying himself, “yeah, I… I could definitely be worse right now.”

Three pairs of eyes drifted to Yuzuru curled up in Javier’s arms, unspoken words exchanged between them.

_At least there wasn’t a tsunami as well._

_At least the rink wasn’t collapsing on us as we ran out._

_At least the ice wasn’t shattering beneath our feet._

Evgenia nodded too in answer to Jason’s question but she didn’t elaborate further. Jason tightened his arm around her shoulders ever so slightly in comfort.

“I’m not withdrawing from Korean nationals. Not now I’ve done the ranking competition.” Jun announced. Jason and Evgenia raised an eyebrow each at him. “You two look like you’ve choreographed that.”

“We didn’t.” Jason said with a little smile, “but that’s pretty admirable, that you’re going to do that in like, what, a week?”

“Yeah. I knew I shouldn’t have bothered coming back here in between them,” Jun joked lightly, fiddling with his keyring once again. A vehicle approached the group, stopping by them.

“Were you guys in the building? Anyone left in there?”

“No one,” Tracy said gently to the men stepping out to greet the group of skaters. “And we don’t have any physical injuries either.”

The men nodded but turned to the group anyway. “There’s a shelter that’s opened not far from here. We’re just taking everyone there for now so we can assess the damage and see when it’s safe for people to go. And we’re trying to get families back together again.”

Jason side eyed Junhwan unconsciously and followed his eyes to Yuzuru before he tore his gaze away quickly. He could only imagine how those two were feeling. Evgenia had her mother in Canada like those two did, but she had already answered and reassured her daughter that she was okay. Yuzuru had been too shaken to check on his mother, and Junhwan...

Jason shook his head quickly as he climbed into the vehicle and settled in a seat near the front beside Evgenia. Both exchanged a look and then looked to the back seat where Yuzuru was sandwiched between Javier and Junhwan. Javier was muttering to Yuzuru who nodded along with what he said, and Jun looked pained and confused, glancing down at what Jason guessed was his phone constantly. Tracy and Brian sat down together in the seats next to Jason and Evgenia.

“Try not to worry too much about them,” Tracy said gently, “Javier will know what to do. He always does.”

“And whatever plan he comes up with usually results in me losing my hair.” Brian said from beside Tracy, shaking his head light heartedly.

“And…. Him?” Jason asked softly, glancing at Jun briefly.

Tracy shook her head, biting her lip a little. “I don’t know. I’ll talk to him when we get there, and make sure he’s okay and everything.”

Jason took one more look back at the trio at the back and smiled at the sight of Yuzuru poking Jun on the nose with Pooh. Evgenia offered him one of her earphones, and he took one look at her playlist and laughed.

“Thanks, but no thanks. Not EXO.”

“EXO is great!”

“What even is EXO?” Brian asked her with the expression of an elderly person dealing with an iPad.

“Korean pop group,” Evgenia asked gently.

“Why don’t you ask Jun if he wants to listen too then?”

“Because Jun isn’t a teenaged girl,” Jason said with a little giggle. Evgenia tutted at him, shaking her head.

“Just because I don’t listen to old man music like you do—” both Jason and Brian made a noise of displeasure at that, “doesn’t mean it’s “teenage girl” music.”

“You are a teenaged girl Evgenia. NineTEEN.” Brian said, shaking his head.

“My music isn’t old man music!” Jason countered hotly.

Quiet Korean words filled the vehicle and Brian raised an eyebrow at Evgenia. “Headphones Evgenia.”

“That’s not me,” she said with a frown, looking down at her phone. She paused the music but the Korean continued, “See. Not me.”

“Then what- Tracy what was that for?” Brian asked, looking at her confused. Tracy raised a finger to her lips and pointed at the back seat.

The group at the front turned to see Yuzuru leaning on Javier’s shoulder. In the corner next to Yuzuru, with tears running down his cheeks, was Junhwan speaking soft Korean into his phone. Tracy watched fondly as the call ended and Yuzuru offered him Pooh for tissues. Jason turned around again, smiling to himself once more as he heard quiet English coming from the back.

Soon the vehicle pulled to a stop by a gymnasium, and Jason half wanted to laugh for poor Yuzuru. Even the evacuation centre location was reminiscent of the incident in Sendai for him. Once the vehicle stopped, he and Evgenia were the first to climb out. He laughed when, the moment she climbed out of the vehicle, she was enveloped in a hug by her mother. Russian words were exchanged so quickly his brain started to hurt even at witnessing them. Brian and Tracy climbed out too, as did Yuzuru and Javier, still with their arms wrapped around each other tightly, and then Jun. Tracy opened her mouth to talk to Jun when she was cut off by Korean. Soon, Jun was enveloped in a hug too from his mother.

Jason watched with a small smile as his training mates were swept up and comforted by their friends and family. Chewing his lip, he fiddled with his phone in his hands lightly. He wasn’t jealous so to speak. No, he was happy that they were all safe and comforted, and he was looking forwards to going and seeing his family. He just wished they could have been there with him, like how the others had someone with them too.

“Don’t think too much about it.” Tracy sat down next to him on the gym floor, resting her arm on her knee. “Seriously, don’t think about it too much. Okay, so they have their parents here. Jun is seventeen, so yeah, I would be worried too if my seventeen year old baby moved halfway across the world from me with no one with him. And Evgenia is still young too, so I can understand her mother being here too. Yuzuru… Well, I’m glad he’ll have his mother here for him for support as well as us and Javier.” She smiled at Jason with that motherly smile he’d grown used to at Toronto Cricket Club. “You, Jason Brown, are very mature, and very kind, live in the same continent as your family, and are, quite frankly, the most functional person training at the rink in general. Your parents aren’t here in Canada because you’re mature and can take care of yourself perfectly well. You’re going to see them soon, aren’t you?”

“I… Yeah.” He nodded, then raised an eyebrow at her. “Isn’t Javier functional?”

Tracy snorted, pulling out her phone and loading up a message from Javier. “No, he isn’t functional in the slightest Jason. Look at this. He’s twenty-seven and he asked me what colour onesie would suit his cats the best. His CATS, Jason. Also, this message,” she scrolled down and showed him the photo of _something burnt_ on a plate accompanied by a message involving lots of panicked emojis. “Who can’t cook eggs?”

“Those are eggs?” Jason asked, staring at the charcoal filled plate. “How…?”

“I don’t know.” Tracy said simply. “I really don’t know how you get to being that age, and an Olympic bronze medallist without being able to function properly.” She hugged him gently with a smile. “So enjoy seeing your family when you see them, and, should you need to talk to someone before then, you can always talk to me, okay?”

“Okay,” he said, hugging her back tightly. “Thank you, Tracy.

“Nothing is too much for my favourite,” she said softly. Javier gasped from nearby.

“I thought I was the favourite!”

“Yeah right Mister “Blue isn’t really Effie’s colour Tracy!” Blue would look super cute on her.”

Javier huffed and sat down next to Yuzuru with two plates of food. Jun was next to them, still hugging his mother tightly, and Evgenia was on his other side, cuddled up to her mother.

“Yeah,” Jason said, half to himself and half to Tracy, “yeah, we’ll all be okay eventually.”

“Take as long as you all need.”


End file.
